I've Known Him Forever
by Cryptonite
Summary: Ginna is the daughter of Gobber. She's different from the other Vikings- she thinks that killing dragons is wrong. If they found out they would surely banish her, or worse. So to prevent that dreadful fate, she hides herself behind a wall of coldness and hostility. But what happens when a certain sarcastic someone is forced into her life? No Hiccstrid. Hiccup X OC
1. Summary

*How to Train Your Dragon fanfiction.* Ginna is the daughter of Gobber. She's different from the other Vikings- she thinks that killing dragons is wrong. If they found out they would surely banish her, or worse. So to prevent that dreadful fate, she hides herself behind a wall of coldness and hostility. But what happens when a certain sarcastic someone is forced into her dreadful life. Will Hiccup be able to find out whats behind the wall, or will Ginna push him away before he gets the chance?

This is my first attempt at an actual story. I am a pretty slow updater so just giving you the heads up now. I will try my best. I already have some of the story line mapped out in my head. I hope you enjoy it!


	2. Chapter 1 - The Beginning

**This story is an AU of the HTTYD world. I might include the whole Hiccup-dragon aspect later on, but right now I'm just focusing on my own character. I'm sorry if I get some Viking facts wrong, because I will probably be making tons of it up. I don't know how this will go but I would love some feedback. Tell me what you think and if I should keep writing. By the way, Ginna's name is pronounced "JIN-ah" in my head, but if you pronounce it differently, that's fine. Whatever your preference is. Now I hope you enjoy...**

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**Chapter 1**

I've known him forever.

When we were little kids, he lived in the house beside me on a secluded mountain top a little ways away from the village. Our fathers were really good friends at the time; they still are actually. I was a shy kid back then, so I never really talked to him. Instead, I just watched him from afar. He didn't seem to have any friends either, so he would find ways to entertain himself. He thought up such extravagant games. Every day it was something new. Oh, how I wanted to join him, but my feet stood put. I hid behind trees and peeped through windows just to watch him. I followed him down paths and through the village as stealthily as I could. I did this for the longest time, but he was bound to notice eventually. I kicked over an axe that was propped up against a house when he first saw me. After that, he was constantly looking around, and it was impossible to not be seen. Instead of confronting me though, he made a game out of it. He would run away and try to lose me in the crowds, while I would follow him without being seen. It was great fun, and we were always smiling. I felt like I had a friend, even if we didn't talk much.

Then his father, the Chief of our tribe, decided to move more central to the village due to the increasing number of dragon attacks. I thought it was pretty cool that my only friend's dad was chief, until I learned he was moving away. Dad didn't like me wandering too far away from the house, and Hiccup was going to live in that "too far" zone. I was devastated.

When I saw him walking away from his old house for the last time, I couldn't help myself. I sprinted that short little distance between us and threw my arms around him, almost knocking us to the ground. I could tell he was pretty surprised.

"I'll miss you Hiccup" I said in a small voice. I unwrapped my arms from around his neck and held my hands behind my back. I remember, even now, feeling my face go tomato red while I hastily turned and ran back inside. Dad was asking what was wrong all day while I cried in my room. I was pretty upset. He eventually gave up, not knowing how to handle his daughter. He decided in his mind that he should just give me space.

When my tears had stopped that day, and I finally caught my breath, I scolded myself. Vikings don't cry, crying is for babies. Not that I ever really cared what being a Viking means, but I wasn't going to be a baby anymore. I think that was when my childhood really ended.

Even though I wasn't going to cry anymore, I still missed Hiccup for the longest time after that. Sure, I still saw him around, but it just wasn't the same. Gods, I had the biggest crush on him back then.

Ever since I decided to grow up, I have distanced myself from everyone. The only person I actually talk to is my dad, Gobber. We have a pretty good relationship still. He lets me do my own thing and I cook the food he likes. He is such a big tease, it's probably where I get it from. We are always teasing each other and joking around when we're alone.

I've built a wall around me so I seem cold and unfriendly. I don't let anyone close enough to penetrate it. I just don't want them to get close enough to find out I'm different, oh so very different. I'm not like them, and I hope I never am. But if those stubborn Vikings saw me for who I really am, they would hate it. They would think it's unnatural and not acceptable. They would probably banish me to Outcast Island and it would disgrace the family name. I couldn't do that to Dad. He has so much work put into that reputation. I'll make sure that when I leave, it will be in a fashion that doesn't affect it.

I train myself all day in all my free time. It takes my mind off the cruelty of life. The people of the village think that I train to kill dragons, but I really I train to defend myself from dragons, without having to kill them. I couldn't possibly harm one of those magnificent beasts. They are no different from us. They need to eat, same as we do, so they come take it from us to survive. They only fight back in self defense because we attack them. I'm so different because I'm the only one who sees and understands it.

I'm getting older now, and I'm afraid that things will start changing. I don't know what I'm going to do with my life. Viking women just get married, and have babies. They have no purpose in life, no true meaning. I never want to be like them. I want to do something that I will be known for, and if I have to leave to do that, so be it. Maybe I could stop the dragon slaughtering and make them see my way. But how could just one girl do that...


	3. Chapter 2 - Think About It

****Thanks for reading my story! Heres Chapter 2. And I forgot to mention this in the previous chapter but Astrid isn't really a part of it. She's just part of that group that bullies Hiccup. And Hiccup doesn't have a crush on her either. So no Hiccstrid, sorry :( And I know that Gobber and Stoick have accents and I'm going to try to include them a little but I find it very difficult to write so your just going to have to imagine them :P  
****

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**Chapter 2**

I wake up to the sound of Vikings yelling and being loud outside. And if you know anything about our Viking culture, you know it's never pleasant to be woken up by us. Groaning, I untangle my body from the blankets I have wrapped myself up in. I've been told I'm a pretty restless sleeper. Judging by the sun, I'm guessing it's early morning. Better get a move on. I quickly throw on my clothes while tying back my long, wavy brown hair. When I get downstairs, I find Dad sitting at the table, waiting for me. He looks troubled, like he wants to talk to me about something important but doesn't know how to start. Great, just great...

I cautiously make my way into the kitchen, eyeing the eggs and yak milk at my seat carefully. It looks safe to eat, so Dad must not have made it himself.

"Good morning..." I say rather uncomfortably. He looks up startled, but settles back down quickly.

"Sorry Ginna, I didn't know you were up. Sit down and have some breakfast." I slowly make my way over to the table and take a seat.

"Did you make this?" I ask poking at the eggs. Just want to make sure its edible before I devour it.

"No, I picked it up at the Mead Hall" he replies with a slight smirk, knowing what I'm thinking. Then his smirk slowly turns to frown again. "I need to talk to you Ginna."

"About what" I ask through a mouthful of eggs.

"Well..." he starts a little awkwardly. "You're getting older now, as you know, and I think it's time you start thinking about a few things..." he checks to make sure I'm listening before carrying on.

"What type of things?" I ask, a little worried for what's coming next.

"Well I can't be here for you forever, so you need to start thinking about your future. There are some fine young lads in the village that I think are suitable for you. You should snatch one up before they're all already married and..."

"Wait, married? We're talking about MARRIAGE?!" I almost choke on the eggs. Gods, I knew the subject would be coming up soon, but I thought I was safe for a few more years. Not when I'm only 15, soon to be 16.

"Well, your friends are starting' to marry off, so I think you should at least start thinking 'bout it." he says trying to reason with me.

"What friends Dad! Do you see any, cause' I sure as hell don't!"

"That's your own doin' Ginna..."

"That's not the point!" I quickly say to stay off that topic. I really don't want to go there again.

"Well is there at least someone who you're interested in?"

"No, there is not a single damn person in this village that I would willingly marry! Can we please switch topics now."

"What about Hiccup? He's a nice young boy. And what a fine price we would get."

"I can't believe you right now!"

"Well if you can't pick someone, I'll have to arrange something myself".

"Fine, I'll think about it, but don't go arranging anything behind my back." I cross my arms to show him I'm serious. He better not ever arrange anything.

"Thanks Ginny" he says using his nickname for me. He stands up and brushes the crumbs off his clothes. He leans over to kiss my forehead and smiles tentatively at me. "See yeh at lunchtime" Dad calls as he opens the door to leave.

"See ya" I mumble as he swings the door shut.


	4. Chapter 3 - Close Encounter

**Yay new chapter! Sorry for the wait. I am quite happy with this chapter though. I hope you are too! Enjoy XD**

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**Chapter 3**

_ I can't believe him! Why now? I'm just 15! He made it sound like he's expecting a wedding in the next year!_

These thoughts won't stop running through my mind as I complete my daily morning chores.

_ I can't get married! What will I do? I refuse to be some idiot's housewife for the rest of my existence! _

With each thought I get even more annoyed and frustrated. I start walking faster up the dirt path, the bucket in my hand banging against my shins more violently than before. Even the peacefulness of the forest isn't making me feel better today. But I'm not paying attention to the moist air or the singing birds. My thoughts are preoccupied with replaying the morning's conversation and sorting out my options. I've never thought this far ahead in life before now. It has always been about keeping my secret to stay alive, or keeping my body in the best possible shape I can manage.

The simplest option, I suppose, would to just get married like I'm expected to. But there is no way that's happening. I would have to stay home all day, never getting out. I would have to cook and clean, a never ending cycle. I would have no independence, no freedom. And a husband would eventually expect a child. And in order for that to even be possible we would have to... ugh, it's too gruesome to even think about. Then there's the whole part where he would eventually get to know me. Could I hide a secret so big from someone so close? I wouldn't be able to. He would find out one way or another, and then ship me off the end of the world for treachery. No, just no, this is not a rational choice.

A more complicated option would be just downright refusing marriage. But what would become of me? I can't just live with Dad forever, and a young woman cannot just simply live by herself. There are laws. Senseless, futile laws, but still laws nonetheless. I would be forced into marriage no doubt. But let's say they did allow me to live alone, in a house to myself. It would be so much work for a single person to maintain. I would have to get a job, which would be next to impossible to do thanks to my gender. I would work all day, and then get home to loads of chores I would have to do or they would deem me unfit to run a household. This option just screams brilliant.

The only other option I can think of, other than death itself, is to runaway. To leave Berk and never look back. It sounds like the most life altering decision here, but also the most appealing. I would have to fake my death so no one will look for me. It would have to be a spectacular death, one that won't be soon forgotten. After a convincing enough death, I could take supplies and head to the forest. The Vikings hardly ever leave the village, and when they do it's just to go hunting close by. I'll travel to the other side of the island, and live in solitude, possibly even travelling once I gather my bearings. I will miss Dad, but he won't be there for me forever. The sooner I accept that, the better. Yes, I like this idea, but how long do I have before it has to happen...

I come upon the small river behind my house. It's a twenty minute walk through the forest, but I don't mind. I rather enjoy having to fetch the water every morning. I take off my socks and boots, leaving them far enough away from shore to stay dry. I don't always go right in, but I love the feeling of the cool water on my toes. I roll up my leggings to my knees and dip my feet into the chilling liquid. I can just make out my reflection in the gentle current. I've always been told that I'm a great beauty. I suppose they speak the truth, but I just look at it as another thing to attract unwanted attention.

I have a tall, athletic frame, with visible muscles, but not bulging like some Vikings. I'm wearing a white fur vest, and a tight copper shirt. My skirt has thick metal strips hanging off the waist: a sort of armor that's easy to move in. Underneath is just simple black leggings. My brown boots laying on shore tie up and have thick soles- made for training and working out. Dad got them for me because I've wrecked so many pairs, and I couldn't be more thankful. My long, dark brown hair, tied back best I can, still has pieces falling forward framing my face. The slight wave to it makes it even more frustrating as it just won't stay in place. A light sprinkle of freckles run across my nose, which is slightly askew from when I broke it once. A full pair of pink tinged lips sit above my pointed chin, the corners turned down in a frown. My eyes are a grayish blue, outlined with thick, black lashes, and even thicker eyebrows. I suppose I get my eyes partly from Dad, although he tells me I get my looks from my mother. I wouldn't know, she died when I was a baby. That doesn't stop Dad from going on about how much I act like her though. That thought brings a slight smile to my mouth. He loves talking about her.

I take the bucket in my hands and dip it in the river. When I lift it up, full of water, it feels 10 times heavier. It would seem nearly impossible for someone else to carry it all the way back, but I've done it so many times now. The aching arms, the ice water splashing up into your face, the tree roots that seem to pop up out of nowhere, their main goal in life to brutally injure you. I almost enjoy it all. I look at it as part of my training. But mostly it just helps me wake up in the morning.

I put the bucket down on the riverbank, carefully so it won't tip over. I dry my feet off as much as a person can without a towel. As I'm lacing up my boots, I hear rustling from the trees across the lake. My head shoots up and I scan the tree line. I don't see any signs of movement, and the rustling stopped as soon as it started. Maybe it's just someone else getting water this morning. Although, I know I'm the only person to get water from this river. I don't want to think it, but if it's not Viking, what else is there.

As soon as that crosses my mind, I spring into action. Don't want to take any chances in case it's dangerous. My sword is unsheathed in my hand and the bucket is gripped firmly in my other. I start running as fast as I can down the dirt path, which is pretty damn fast. I can feel the water in the bucket I'm carrying sloshing around violently. I glance behind me briefly to check if any raging, murderous dragons are charging at me. But all I see is a lazy dragon that waddles out of the trees for a drink. I stop in my tracks. I've never seen a dragon like that before. I don't even remember it being in the book of dragons. I have to get a closer look. I move behind a tree and slyly peer around its bark.

It's a beautiful creature. It looks so calm and drowsy, like it just woke up. I can relate. Its wings are folded up against its body, but by the look of it, they are massive. They are a dazzling gold color, and have a sort of glow to them. Its body is fairly thin and has a sort of snake-like impression. Its tail is like a whip, super skinny and very long. It has large, bony legs that look pretty strong and fast. The scales on its body are a brilliant bronze with some gold mixed in here and there. The different shades and colors mix and mingle beautifully. It has a round snout and golden ears on the top of its head. It's amazing.

I lean forward a bit more, but the branch I was holding to steady myself gives way under my weight, making a horrible cracking noise. I cringe as I lose my balance and fall to my knees. The dragon looks up from what it's doing and I freeze. It looks right at me with those eyes. Those piercing, almost purple eyes. I stay still as a statue, looking right back. After scrutinising me for awhile, it just goes right back to drinking. I stare at it for a moment, still too shocked to move. Why am I sitting here, I should be running! I stand up cautiously, grab my sword and the bucket that is miraculously still full, and start sprinting back home. If anything, this just supports my theory on dragons. They aren't blood-thirsty monsters like they are made out to be, but gentle, graceful creatures of nature that are greatly misunderstood.

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**It took me a bit longer to write this chapter because I had to figure out what Ginna and the dragon would look like. And to do that I usually draw it. I'm not the best artist, but it helps me picture the characters better. I hope this chapter helps to picture what Ginna looks like a bit. **


	5. Chapter 4 - The Archives

**Chapter 4**

I run all the way home from the river. When I reach the backdoor of my house, I whip it open as fast as I can, still in overdrive. I scramble inside, slam the door behind me, and race up the stairs into my room, but not before placing the bucket of water in the kitchen. I lean my back against the bedroom door as it closes. I slide down to the floor and curl up into a tight ball. I close my eyes and try to slow down my heavy breathing. As much as I'm against harming dragons, I'm still slightly terrified of them. I'm not an idiot, I know they will kill you. I just think it's because we kill them too, so they think we all mean harm.

After a few minutes, I decide to open my eyes. The morning sun is shining through the window, lighting the whole room up. It's a small house, I find it quite cozy. When you enter the front door, to the right is the main room that has a couch and a chair covered in furs. Also in the corner is a small bookshelf that contains a few books and valuables. To the left of the front door is a small kitchen and a table to eat at. The backdoor exits through the kitchen into the woods. We keep the outhouse in the woods, as well as the bath. Less of a trip to get water I guess. Anyways, straight ahead of the front door is a staircase, which also serves as a storage space underneath. Two twin bedrooms sit at the top, at either side. The one on the left is my father's, which I rarely go into. The room on the right is mine. It just has a bed, some drawers, and a trunk at the foot of my bed. A fairly large window takes up the far wall. It has a ladder running down the side of the house for a quick escape too. Dad thought that it was important in case of any emergency. And there is a high chance of that in this village.

I shakily stand up and head over to my window. I can see the village to the right, and a bit of the forest to the left. Nothing looks out of place. Just an ordinary day. Vikings waking up, and getting to work. Heading out to go fishing. Children causing mischief with their Viking games. People greeting each other good morning.

I tread down the stairs, anxious to finish my chores and do something more productive. Heading over to the small stove in the kitchen, I look down in the water bucket and notice that about a quarter of the water is missing. My brows knit together in confusion while I fill up the pot on the stove, but then I realize a good portion of that water is soaked into my clothes. I lightly laugh at myself. I would say that is a fair accomplishment under the circumstances. I light the stove with some matches. While I'm waiting for the water to boil, I quickly do my household chores, not thinking about anything but what I'm doing. I sweep the floor, make lunch for later, and do the dishes. When the water is done boiling, I place the pot aside and put the fire out.

I'm about to head out to do my daily training, but I realize something. On a normal day, I would go training in the forest until lunch time. But that dragon could still be out there. It could be lurking around the forest anywhere. I'm not going to go back and risk it. There's a better chance it will be gone this afternoon, so I will just train extra hard after lunch.

I have a whole morning free to myself then. Whenever I have free time, I usually go check out the village archive. It's surprisingly loaded with books. A lot of them are pretty biased, stating that dragons are monsters and whatnot, but they serve their purpose. I am so curious as to what species that dragon is. I don't remember ever seeing it in any books.

I decide to go have a look in the archive. There has to be something on the dragon I saw. I head down the hill following the dirt path to the village. I don't have to venture far, because the archive is one of the closest buildings to my house. When I was younger Dad showed me all the books and scrolls we stored there. I was so intrigued by this, I made it my goal to read every word in that room. And I did. It took me a couple years, but I read it all. I lost interest afterwards, having nothing new to read. Every now and then Dad will get me a book for my birthday or Snoggletog, and it's finished within days. I have always enjoyed reading.

I walk up to the door to find it already unlocked. I peek inside to see Fishlegs deeply engrossed in a thick book. I smile to myself, he looks so peaceful. He might be the only person in this village who loves reading more than me. I stealthily enter the room and close the door behind me without making a noise. Fishlegs hasn't noticed me yet, being so into his book.

Fishlegs is alright for a Viking. I think he's the only one in his little group that doesn't obsess over slaughtering dragons and getting new scars. He likes learning about dragons more. I don't know why he hangs around with them, but I know they don't treat him well. I think we could be great friends, but that can never happen. He is to loyal to the chief. Instead, I act a little friendlier to him. I don't say a lot to him, but I will give him a smile once in a while. I guess you can say I have a soft spot for Fishlegs.

I go over to the rows of books, looking for one in particular. My eyes scan the worn out spine of each book until I find it: The Book of Dragons. It would contain any information of the dragon I saw in the forest. I walk to the table in the middle of the room and drop the thick book on it, perhaps at bit too loudly because it makes Fishlegs jump and look up. Once he sees it's just me, he settles back down. I offer him a small smile of apology as I take a seat at the bench, which he returns before getting back to his book.

It takes me about thirty minutes to flip through every page of The Book of Dragons. A few dragons have similar features, but none are what I'm looking for. I frown slightly. I don't remember if any other books had information about dragons that wasn't in The Book of Dragons, but there so easily could be. I look up at Fishlegs. He has read everything in this archive about five times over. He should surely know. But should I risk it. It's hardly anything to be suspicious about.

"Fishlegs..." I start out slowly. He looks up from his reading, surprised that I'm talking to him. "Do you know if there are any dragon species that aren't recorded in The Book of Dragons?" I try to make it sound as if I'm just merely wondering about it. I hope he doesn't think anything of it, because he is pretty smart.

After his initial shock, he becomes thoughtful, tilting his head to the side a bit. "Oh! There is this one book. It's not much, and very vague, and I'm not even sure that they are real, I mean no has ever claimed to have seen them before. But I think they are. And they are too cool!" He starts babbling on and on about the book super excitedly. I try to listen, but he is talking so fast. "There's this one, and it can like, blow bubbles through its nose, and you better not go near them because when they pop, Oh Thor, that would hurt..." he trails of when he sees my look of confusion. His face turns a tad red and he heads over to the shelves, mumbling about getting it. After listening to him shuffling through books for a few minutes, he brings back a thin, poorly made book. I don't remember ever reading this one. Must be a new addition.

"Here" he says while handing me the book. "I've got to get going. See you around" he mutters before heading out the door with the book he was reading in his hand.

"Thanks" I call after him, not sure if he heard me.

I turn back to the book. It's titled "The Undiscovered Ones" with no visible author. It looks really worn out. I flip to the first page. He really wasn't kidding about it being vague. There is basically only a name, a picture, and a couple sentences about the dragon. The first one has a long blue body with small wings. It's called a Stormdasher. "_This small dragon can manipulate the weather to create storms. It is also very fast and stealthy. Never been seen." _That seems a little farfetched. I turn the page and see a pale white dragon with massive, deadly horns. "_This dragon can shoot ice from its mouth that will freeze a whole island. Super sharp horns coated in poison. Never been seen_." Yeah right. I keep skipping through the pages. _"Saliva can heal wounds"_, _"Can blow down entire forests"_, _"Can burn flesh off of body with its eyes."_ They sound like nothing but made up creatures from one's imagination. But they all say the same thing at the end: _"Never been seen."_

And then I see it. It's drawn in such a way to make it look like a monster, but it looks enough like the dragon in the forest that I know I found it. _"Raging Skulleblazer. This dragon has a whip-like tail that can choke its victims to death. It can also emit enough light from its wings to blind you. Never been seen."_ That is until today. I'm not sure about all that nonsense with it blinding people, but at least I have something to go off of now. Why is it here though. It can't live here, or someone would have seen it before. Are there more than just the one. If it was smart, it would stay in that forest. It couldn't survive in our village. It would be caught and killed upon sight. No one would even care about discovering a new species. Oh Loki, I hope it gets away from this village.

I grab the book and head to the door. I'm going to keep it for a while. I open the door and the sun hits me full on. It looks about mid-day. I was in there longer than I thought. Better get Dad his lunch. My stomach rumbles at the thought of food. I better eat some lunch too.

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** Sorry that this took awhile. I'm going to save my excuses because I have had plenty of time to do this. I know my chapters are pretty short. I think they are getting better though XD I have a really hard time coming up with names for characters and species. It has to at least fit in with the story and suit the character. Lol I don't mean to offend anyone with this but I read this one story before and it was literally like "Such a special dragon needs a very unique name. I shall call her Snowflake!" It really bugged me for the rest of the story. Can anyone else relate?**

** Anyway, I am thinking this story will be no less than 30 chapters long. There is going to be two parts to it, but I think I'm just going to keep it together as one book. I want to write longer chapters, but I don't think that is happening. I'm not sure how long it will take to write. Thanks to everyone who is reading the story. It makes me so happy to know people are actually reading this :D Tell me what you think so far!**


	6. Chapter 5 - Dangers of the Forge

**Chapter 5**

I get home for lunch, and Dads not here. Typical. He probably has no idea what time it is. I swear, that man works too hard. If it wasn't for me, he would never remember to have lunch, or stop working.

He tried showing me how to work in the blacksmith once. I hated it. I just couldn't do anything right. I remember, I snapped a spear in half, melted the tip off a sword, and dropped a mace on a man's foot. Dad kicked me out and concluded that the blacksmith just wasn't for me. He still gets a little nervous when I'm in there with him. He hardly lets me go near the weapons. I am better at wielding weapons, not crafting them.

I guess that's why he has an apprentice now- Hiccup. Why, out of all people it had to be him I will forever wonder. He can barely lift an axe for Thor's sake! It doesn't seem sensible. He could get hurt...

I run upstairs, shaking my head to rid of that previous thought. I hide the book I took from the archives in my trunk. No one but me comes in my room, let alone my trunk. I'm confident it will stay hidden.

I come back downstairs into the kitchen after it's safely tucked away. The lunches I made are still sitting in the icebox. Leftover chicken from last night, an apple for each of us from the trees outside, and smoked fish.

I eat my chicken and fish at the table. By the time I start my apple, Dad still hasn't shown up. I'll just have to bring him his lunch at work today, like I do so often. I could use the walk anyway. I have so much pent up energy from not training this morning.

I exit the house and start walking into town while eating my apple. Everyone is out working today. It's a great day for it. The sun is shining, and there's a light breeze off the sea. I can't wait to get to training later. I think I will go on an extra long run.

I reach the smithy too soon. I really don't want to deal with this. Upon seeing the building, all my unwanted thoughts come rushing back.

_Will he bring up the subject again? Is he planning a ceremony already? Does he really expect me to pick a husband and get married? _

I walk into the smithy to see Dad hammering away at some piece of metal. Just what I thought. I sit down at his work table and look over some sketches while I wait for him to finish, or at least notice me. The drawings make no sense to me. All lines and measurements and foreign looking weapons. I look back up to Dad to see him dipping the metal into water.

I prop my feet up on the work table and lean back in the chair. I watch him attach a wooden handle to what I now realize is a hammer. I watch, somewhat fascinated, as he finishes up, and hangs it on the wall. He should really clean this place up. Someone could get seriously injured in here. Weapons are laying everywhere- hanging from the ceiling, crowding the counters, and even a couple scattered on the ground.

"Ginna! What are you doing here?" I turn my attention back to the one legged man in front of me.

"Hey Dad. Since you never came home for your lunch, I'm delivering your food. So here is your delicious lunch made entirely by my own two hands." I smile teasingly as I plop the bag on his work table.

"Lunch time already huh." He mutters as he looks down at the food suspiciously before moving it to the side. His demeanor grows more serious as he looks up at me. "Have you been thinking about what I said this morning Ginna?" he asks as he pushes my feet off his table. Why did he have to bring that up. I don't want to talk about this. I should have put some worms in his lunch or something.

"How could I forget," I mumble just loud enough for him to hear as I slouch down into the chair, an elbow propping myself up. I spread my other arm dramatically."You must be out to ruin my life. What's the point of even living anymore?" I pretend to choke, putting my hands up against my neck, strangling myself. I pretend to have spasms while I cough and gag. After a few more heaves, I flop my head onto the table, pretending to be dead. After a moment, I peek out between my arms, and I see Dad shaking his head, trying not to laugh.

"Really Ginna, this is important. I need you to really think about this. I don't want to have to make a decision for you." He looks me dead in the eye.

"Yeah, sure. Got it." I try to shake it off. I really want to move past this now.

"It shouldn't be too hard anyway Ginna. You can pretty much have any man you want." He then winks at me. I roll my eyes at that.

"So... how has work been today?" I ask, trying to change the subject.

"Fine. We got loads of weapons that need to be fixed." he says nonchalantly. "Hiccup is busy doing who-knows-what in that back room of his." He picks up the bag of food and pulls out a chicken leg.

Hiccup. My father's blacksmith apprentice. My former sort-of best and only friend. Hated by all. Well, all but my dad. And I suppose I don't hate him either, I just don't associate with him. He's too smart to be around. He's also so blinded by his loyalty to the tribe and want to be accepted, that I have no doubt he would turn me in the second he discovered my true feelings towards dragons.

"Hey, could you actually go get him. I have some swords I want him to work on," Dad says through a bite of fish. Even though he says it in a casual manner while he eats, I know he just wants me to talk to Hiccup. He's always trying to get me to socialize with people, because apparently I don't seem to do it on my own enough.

"Why can't you do it?" I ask stubbornly, crossing my arms across my chest.

"Because I'm eating this delicious lunch you made for me," he mocks me. "I don't get what your problem is. Just go get him."

"Well I just don't want to. I am very comfortable in this chair you know."

He gives me that look that says "seriously?" before giving me a sly smile. "Oh, I think I know what it is. You have a little crush on him don't you. I can't say I blame you, he's really something."

I instantly freeze. I can feel my face heating up at that thought. He can't be serious. Does he actually think that? He can't. But if he actually thought I liked Hiccup, he might try to wed me to him. " I do not have any feelings whatsoever for that boy," I tell Dad sternly.

"Then you won't mind getting him for me," he replies smugly.

I grit my teeth as I stand up. "Fine," I snap. "But for the record, I'm not doing this to prove I don't like him. I'm doing this because you're too lazy to get off your fat ass and do it yourself." I spin around with a final huff and stalk off to the back room, listening to him chuckle to himself.

Do I have a crush on him? I know I liked him when I was little, but that's when I still believed in fairytales and happily ever afters. Now that I'm older, I have to think practically. In the Viking culture, people marry for money and status, not love and feelings. Dad's giving me a choice, which is almost unheard of, but if I'm planning on leaving, there's no point in even heading down that road. Maybe someday I will fall in love, but not now.

I reach the door to the little back room. It's not fully closed, so I decide to just open it. Nobody knocks around here anyways. It swings open a little, and I poke my head in. And then I wedge half of my body through the door to get a better look.

It really is quite small. A desk pushed up against the wall. A bench for him to sit at. Some tools scattered on a table. And drawings everywhere. They cover every surface, every wall. They are actually quite remarkable.

And then I see Hiccup. He is sitting at the desk, with a stick of charcoal and paper. His face is in deep concentration as he tries to draw his lines precisely. His auburn hair is messy, and he has bags under his eyes. And gods, those freckles...

"Ginna?" Hiccup asks confusedly. I flinch, startled, and then scowl at being caught staring at him. Why was I thinking that, ugh. He is looking right at me, waiting for my answer. An explanation for why I'm even talking to him.

"Da-... Gobber needs you out in the forge. Has some work for you," I tell him coldly, looking away and crossing my arms.

"Alright, I'll be right out there," Hiccup tells me, seemingly unaffected by my hostile attitude. He must be used to being treated like this. Everyone is mean to him, but he still tries to keep the peace. I almost feel guilty for treating him like that, but I can't let it get to me. Instead I just turn around and slam the door shut behind me.

I march back towards Dad's work table and grab the bag from his finished lunch. Dad is working on some drawing now. He looked up at me when I came back in. "He's comin', see yeh for dinner," I tell Dad, before spinning on my heels and heading out the door.

"Not so fast missy! I have a job for you before you head out," Dad calls before I get far enough away. I turn around and sigh. I won't ever get into the forest to train at this rate.

"Okay, what do you want me to do?" I ask as I walk back towards him. At the same time Hiccup walks out of the back room. He sees me and smiles. I'm about to smile back, not being able to help it, when he trips over the corner of a table and falls right on his face. I let out a small laugh, but quickly cover it up with a cough. He is so clumsy though.

He hops right back up, perfectly fine, but a little embarrassed. His cheeks are quickly turning red. "Good thing I didn't land on something pointy," he tries to joke weakly, laughing it off. His laughs quickly die when he realizes no one is laughing with him. Although I'm pretty close to.

"Come 'ere you clumsy oaf," Dad says while rolling his eyes. I wonder if this kind of thing happens often. "Fix these swords," he tells Hiccup, while pointing at a pile of about five swords violently bent in all directions.

"Yes sir," Hiccup replies, saluting. Dad chuckles and shakes his head. Hiccup brings the swords over to a table and starts pounding them with a hammer to straighten them out.

Dad turns to me, only to see me smiling a little and watching Hiccup. I look over at him and wipe the expression off my face. He only raises his eyebrows.

"Anyway, I need you to make a delivery for me. It's sort of out of the way. I'll go grab the weapons. I'll be a minute." He then walks around the back to gather some weapons.

I sit down on top of his work table while I'm waiting for him. He could probably take a while, so I settle on watching Hiccup work. I don't think I like him like Dad suggested, and even if I did, I shouldn't indulge on it when I'm just going to leave. I just like him as a person. He is kind of funny, a really nice guy, and personally, I think he's kind of cute. But I shouldn't think like this, it'll only make things worse. Gods, what am I doing?

I shake my head, ridding myself of those thoughts. I then focus on what Hiccup is doing. The swords are pretty bashed up. Every hit of the hammer straightens it out a bit, but with Hiccup's frail arms, it probably takes five times as long as it does for Gobber.

Then I notice a shelf above his head with a mace carelessly thrown on top. Every time Hiccup smashes the hammer onto the sword, the mace jumps forward a little on the shelf. I watch the hopping mace in amusement, until I realize it's getting closer to the edge. My eyes trace the invisible path it would fall down, right to Hiccup's head. My eyes widen as I grasp what's going to happen. I glance back up at the mace quickly to find it just teetering on the edge. Any second now...

"Hiccup!" I scream as I start sprinting towards him. He turns to look at me, eyes full of surprise, right as I crash into him and send us sprawling to the ground.

A searing pain engulfs my left calf. I instantly know that the mace landed on my leg instead. I pretend to ignore it though, because a true Viking isn't affected by pain, and that's what they want to see. But all I want to do is cry out and clutch at my wound.

I look up to find myself draped over his body. Hiccup is staring at me wide eyed, and I can feel the heat from where our figures touch. I stand up quickly, feeling a new burst of pain spread through my leg. I see Dad walking over to see what happened. I turn on Hiccup who's still on the ground.

"YOU IDIOT! That mace would have killed you! Can't you look after yourself for once!" I spin around and storm out of the forge, leaving a flustered and embarrassed Hiccup on the floor. I stop beside Dad on the way out and fiercely whisper with my head down, "You need to stop leaving things lying around like that. He could get hurt too easily." I grab the hand full of weapons in his hands. "You don't want a dead chief's son on your hands," I quickly add.

He nods his head once. "They go to the training arena," he mumbles about the weapons, before going over to make sure Hiccup is alright. I try not to limp too much as I walk out of the forge.

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**Hey again! I was asked this in a review, and I'm going to just answer it here so everyone knows. Yes, there will be a Hiccup-Toothless relationship later in the story. And yes, it will follow the original movie in a specific kind of way. I know, it's pretty vague. I don't want to give anything away though. Hope you enjoyed this chapter :D Longest chapter so far.**


	7. Chapter 6 - Injuries

**Not one of my best chapter, and I didn't proof read it very well. I just wanted to upload. It has been forever.**

**Don't worry, I haven't given up on this story. I just read my previous chapters and wasn't too happy with them. I want to rewrite them, but I'm not sure when that will be.**

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**Chapter 6**

It doesn't take long to walk over to the training arena, but it's enough time for the wound to soak my leggings a dark crimson and leave a trail of blood behind me as I walk. Every step sends a shooting pain up my leg, but I ignore it. Vikings stare at me as I walk by, some in admiration, others in jealousy. I mustn't show that I'm in pain.

When I reach the arena entrance, I find some of the teenagers my age hanging out. Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Astrid, and even Fishlegs. Fishlegs is reading on a bench, completely oblivious to what's going on. Snotlout is trying to impress Astrid by beating up Tuffnut, and Ruffnut is just laughing her head off. The idiot victim looks like he's about to pass out, and Astrid is anything but impressed.

I head over to the weapons room, ignoring them as I walk by. "Ginna! Hey!" Snotlout calls after me. I can hear several footsteps jogging in my direction. I quickly swing the door open and walk inside, closing it behind me. I look around the room. The light streaming through the small window is enough to illuminate the small space. The room is supplied with all the weapons you would need for training. Piles of them are dumped all over the ground. They aren't necessarily the best, because it's just practise, but you get the gist. It sickens me, to know that they're training to kill dragons.

I toss the arm full of weapons onto the pile and quickly exit. I close the door tight behind me when I leave. When I turn around, the four of them are standing five feet in front of me and staring at my leg. I scowl at them, and push past Astrid. Fishlegs is still reading his book, but he looks up when he hears the new commotion.

"Ginna, wait!" Astrid shouts and runs up to me. "What happened to your leg? It looks pretty bad."

"Awesomely bad!" Ruffnut cuts in.

"Training," I lie to her firmly. I keep my head straight forward trying to show them I don't want to talk to them. They always try to do this. Try to hang out with me, include me in their little group. I mean, I guess some of them aren't the worst, but I shouldn't get close to anyone. Besides, the rest of them are complete idiots.

"How'd you do it? It looks so painful!" Tuffnut says.

I turn around to glare at him, getting right up in his face. "That is none of your business, so back off before I give you an injury to match!"

"Wait, so, like, we would have matching scars," Tuff grins. "Because that would be so cool."

I shake my head at his idiocy, and turn around to walk away. I need a different tactic. Threats don't even phase them, and I think they like it when I'm mean.

"Hey, babe," Snotlout says casually striding up beside me. "I can tell they're getting on your nerves. Let's get away from these idiots. We'll go to my place. Stab some stuff, lift a bit. I can even show you my dragon heads." The thought of that makes me feel sick, for several reasons.

"No thank you," I tell him coldly, swallowing my disgust. I try to quicken my pace.

"Sure, whatever you want babe. We could-"

"I said NO Snotlout!" I yell in his face. Dear Odin, just stop talking. Let me get home. I think I have a second heartbeat in my leg.

"Okay, yeah. But if you ever want to ditch training or something, I'm always here for you." He then proceeds to give me this smile that says "How could you not want this?" and walks away.

I don't understand how someone could be so obnoxious and arrogant. I wish he would just stick to flirting with Astrid. Although that is a horrible fate to wish upon someone.

I catch Fishlegs' eye across the arena. He gives me a sympathetic smile, and I nod my head in his direction in acknowledgement.

I quickly leave after that. I really need to fix up my leg. The pain is excruciating. I wonder if I could bleed out from this. It certainly is making me a little dizzy.

When I reach my house, I quickly shut the door behind me and sit down at the kitchen table. I bend down to tend to my wound. My leggings are soaked and it's trailing down my boots. I really hope that doesn't stain. I gently take off my boot and roll up my leggings, ignoring the pleas of protest coming from the cut. When I finally get a good look at it, I am stunned.

I thought the mace just grazed my leg, but one of the points must have sliced open the side of my leg. The cut is deep, deeper than I thought. It will definitely leave a good sized scar. It's just below my knee, a horizontal slice the length of my finger.

I slowly stand up, putting my weight on my good leg. I limp over to the cupboards in the kitchen to grab the healing kit to clean up the cut. I open the cupboard, but it's empty. I frown. Then I open every other cupboard in the kitchen. Where in Valhalla is that healing kit? It was there yesterday, and I'm pretty sure it was there this morning...

No it wasn't. Gods, Dad took it to work because we needed to get more supplies. How could I forget. Of course when I need it the most, it's gone. What can I expect? I'll just wait until Dad gets back with it tonight. I do not want to walk back through town again. I don't think I have the energy for that.

I grab a cloth from the kitchen and dunk it in the boiled water. I sit down, and carefully clean the blood away. The bleeding won't stop, but it's slowing down. I finally just give up. I grab a towel and tie it tightly around the injury. It will have to do until Dad comes home.

But what do I do until then. I really shouldn't train like this. And I'm not going to be leaving the house. Maybe I could read that dragon book. But that's all the way up the stairs. I really shouldn't put more weight on my leg than necessary. I don't want to sit here the rest of the day doing nothing.

Light knocks come from the front door. I whip my head towards the direction. Who would come over at this time. And why now. Gods, today is just the worst day to get hurt.

I stand up and make my way over to the door. I take a second to compose myself, before I open the door just enough to see who's there. And the person standing there is none other than Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III.

"Hey..." he says nervously, trailing off.

"Hi," I say, trying to keep my face emotionless. I'm actually very shocked that he's here.

"Yeah... well, your D-dad sent me over. He saw that you were hurt and remembered he had the healing kit so he gave it to me to run over here. So... uh, here," he tells me and holds out the healing kit.

I feel so relieved inside. "Thanks," I mumble as I open the door all the way to accept the box. That's when he gets a look at my leg. The towel is all bloody already. I see the look of concern that crosses his face.

"That doesn't look too good," he stops for a moment cautiously before continuing. "D-do you want me to t-take a look?" he stutters out nervously.

"I'm fine," I automatically say as I stand a little straighter. By doing that though, I put some weight on my injured leg. I can't help but wince a little when the pain shoots through my leg.

Hiccup is watching me closely. "No you're not," he says quietly. "Besides, it's the least I could do," he trails off, looking away ashamed.

I bite my lip. I probably could use some help. Who am I kidding, I desperately needed help. I mean, I know the basics about healing, but this kind of thing is out of my league. I can't afford it getting infected or not properly taken care of. I've heard Dad talk about Hiccup's expertise in medicine before. And I can't exactly leave if I'm dead.

Before I can think it over more, I turn around and head towards the table, leaving the door open so he can follow. I try not to limp too much, but I'm not sure how convincing it is anymore.

I sit down on a chair, and Hiccup pulls another chair up in front of me. I hand him the kit silently. He shuffles through it, pulling out gauze and bandages and whatnot.

He puts it all on the table, and reaches down to lift up my leg. His hands hesitate just before they touch me and he looks up. "May I?" he asks. I assume he is asking permission to touch me, and I think that's such a silly thing to ask. But I still nod my head.

He reaches down again and gently lifts my leg onto his lap. Even this single movement causes me pain. He very carefully unwraps the towel from my leg to reveal the cut. The bleeding has slowed down, but it still looks pretty bad.

"I will have to put a few stitches in," Hiccup tells me.

"Get it over with then," I instruct him. He pulls out a needle and thread from the box, and a bottle of alcohol. He sterilizes the needle, and then my leg. The liquid burns.

"It will hurt. Are you ready?" he asks me unsurely. He probably thinks I'm going to attack him or something.

"Just do it," I almost scream at him.

He holds the cut together with two finger. He takes the needle in his other hand and pierces the skin. I fight the urge to scream and push him away. I can tell he's trying to work fast, but it's not fast enough. My jaw is clenched, and my hands are tightly gripping the seat of the chair.

After eons, Hiccup seems to be finished. He sits back and gives me a small smile. I look down to see that my leg is all wrapped up.

"Thank you," I say sincerely.

"It was nothing," he replies, smiling up at me. "Just don't put too much pressure on it for about three days. That means no running or training. You can walk around though. And change the bandages twice a day and keep it clean so it doesn't get infected."

"I think I've got it," I tell him.

"Okay. That mace got you pretty good. I was surprised how bad it was," he laughs. I nod my head in agreement.

There is a moment of silence in the room. "Why'd you do it?" he asks quietly.

"Do what?" I reply, even though I have a feeling I know where this is leading.

"Knock me out of the way. Not let the mace fall on my head and kill me. No one else would've even cared. You even got hurt because of it." He seems confused, and upset.

I suck a sharp breath in. Why did I risk myself to save him? I don't even know myself. I didn't even think before throwing myself on him. I couldn't just let him die. That would be horrible. I guess I do care about him in some ways. But that's definitely not what I'm telling him. I make up a quick lie.

"It would wreck my Dad's reputation if the chief's son got killed in his smithy," I tell him coldly. It sounded like a good, believable reason. "He's going to be home soon anyway, I think it's time you left." Another lie. That one he can probably see through though.

He nods his head, and rises from his seated position. I can't tell what he's thinking, and I really wish I did. I don't want to hurt him, but it's much better this way.

"See ye," he mutters as he walks out the door, and closes it behind him. Was the door open the whole time? He's getting too close though. If he found anything bizarre about me he'll go yapping to the Chief. He is probably one of the most dangerous people to get to know.

I limp over to the main room, and spread myself out on the couch. I close my eyes, and fall asleep to the dull aching in my leg and rare sunshine hitting my face.

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**Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated :D**


	8. Chapter 7 - Healing

**Chapter 7**

Three days. For three long, horrible, frustrating days I've been cooped up in this stuffy little house, unable to move off this damned couch. Dad only lets me get up to use the outhouse. He can't control me when he's at work though. It wasn't like I was stupid enough to go for a run while I'm hurt, but I just needed to sit outside for a bit, or even head down to the archives. Dad has come home with food each day so I don't have to cook, tonight being no exception.

"Dad, I'm getting back to my normal routine tomorrow," I tell him at the end of the third day, through a mouthful of fish.

He looks at me with a great deal of worry. "Are you sure you're able to so soon? There's no rush Ginna."

"Yes Dad, it's just a little cut. I'll be fine." I finish up my dinner and stand up to wash my dish.

"Okay. Just don't push yourself too hard like you always do," he says. He stares down at his plate in thought. A slow smirk emerges onto his face. "Hiccups been asking about you. About how you are." He looks up at me. "You should pay him a visit tomorrow, to show him you're so 'fine'."

I look over at him with raised eyebrows. "Or you could just tell him I'm fine." I put my clean plate in the cupboard and hobble back towards the couch.

Dad chuckles and shakes his head. "By the way, Ginna, dragon training is starting up again this year. Ye sure you don't want to sign up? It'd be good for you."

I sigh. This again. There is no way he could get me in that disgusting arena to fight actual dragons. Number one way to expose myself. "I am very sure Dad. No thank you."

He looks away, disappointed. He has wanted me to go for years, since he teaches it. But I've always been so adamant about having better things to do. I'm not sure how much longer that excuse is going to hold up though. "Well, goodnight Dad," I say quickly as I start walking up the stairs.

"Goodnight Ginny."

I wake up bright and early the following morning. I check my leg, and decide it has healed enough to do my chores. I wrap it up in cloth, and get dressed.

I finish most of my chores, and then grab the bucket to fetch some water. I slowly wander up the trail, taking it easy on my leg. The wooden pail swings at my side.

I get to the river in a much longer time than normal. I fill up the bucket with the clean water and place it on shore. Few sun rays surpass the thick roof of leaves and shine down on the dry soil. It's a warmer day today, not that it's ever very warm at all in Berk.

Across the river, I see some rustling in the bushes. Probably just a rabbit or squirrel. I have nothing better to do, because I can't train with my leg in this condition, so I decide to go explore. I take off my shoes and socks to wade through the cool water. I reach the other side and put them back on before my feet freeze.

I walk up to the moving bush and peer inside. Just as I thought, a family of black bunnies are nesting inside and don't take notice of me. I look past the bush into the thick forest. I wonder if that strange dragon is still somewhere in there. I take a hesitant step toward the trees, and then another, more confident one. Soon I'm striding through the bushes, deeper into this unknown part of the forest.

This area really isn't any different. Just thicker foliage and more animals. I feel like I've been walking for hours when I finally reach something of any major interest. I stand at the top of a ridiculously high cliff, and carefully look down. If someone fell down this, they were definitely a goner. The rough sea swirls at the bottom, crashing against the stone wall. I've heard people talk about this cliff, but never paid it much attention. I thought it was just a story to scare children from wandering too far.

Another island is a fair distance away from the cliff, but close enough to be considered the same island. The two pieces of land don't seem to connect anywhere I can see along the cliff edge. So much for my running away plan; it would be too difficult to get across.

I turn around, ready to head back, and come face to face with a dragon. The very same dragon I saw a few days ago. I reel back in fright, my heart pumping too fast.

It all happens so fast. I step backwards onto the very edge of the cliff, and the rock crumbles beneath my foot. I fall down the side and just manage to grab onto a jagged rock protruding from the stone wall. I clutch it for dear life as I dangle over the raging ocean below. I don't scream though, for that would attract the creature's attention above.

I'm unsure of how to proceed. My only option is to climb back up, but it looks nearly impossible. There aren't any foot and hand holds except for what I'm clinging to, but I have to try. I use all of my strength to lift my body up and get my foot on the rock. I use this leverage to jump up, to grab the cliff edge. Realizing too late that I was using my bad leg, I don't jump nearly high enough, and my fingers only just graze the top. My body painfully scrapes against the rough stone as I fall back down, and end up hanging onto the same rock.

I clench my jaw in frustration and feel a stinging sensation behind my eyes. I can do this, I've been training for this kind of situation. I lift myself up again, my arms now starting to shake from exhaustion. I use my good leg this time to crouch onto the rock, but apparently the rock decides it has had enough of me, and starts to break away from the cliff. I try to jump again, but the rock crumbles and I'm left falling. I let out a strangled cry and scrunch my eyes closed. I don't want to die like this.

Suddenly I'm not falling anymore. A pressure around my waist holds me midair, almost like a rope. I look up, expecting to see a fellow Viking, but instead I'm greeted with the same eyes that scared me off this cliff. I look down to find I'm not held by a rope, but instead the dragon's extremely long tail.

I am frozen with shock. The dragon pulls me up gently, with uncanny strength for such a thin tail. It sets me in the damp grass, a good distance from that horrible cliff. It stares at me, with big curious eyes as I sit on the ground. It really is a gorgeous animal.

"Hello," I say breathlessly, not sure what to do. The creature comes closer, and starts sniffing me. It's breath tickles my neck slightly."Thanks for saving me," I tell it with a bit more confidence. The dragon rubs it's smooth head against my shoulder and makes a low, happy, vibrating noise. "You certainly are friendly." I state, chuckling a bit, quickly recovering from my near death encounter.

"Where did you come from, boy?" I ask, more to myself than to the dragon. The dragon pulls it's head away from me and growls unhappily. I raise my hands in surrender, not wanting to offend it. "No? No, okay. Sorry. Girl then? I meant girl. I was going to say you looked too pretty for a guy anyways." She whipped her tail around and lightly slapped me in the leg. "Hey, I said sorry! How was I supposed to know?" The dragon made a chortling noise and went back to cuddling me. She was laughing at me! Some dragon.

A thought comes to me. "Can you really glow in the dark?" As if understanding me, she opens her wings to their full extent and backs up. I take this opportunity to stand up quickly. I manage to count eight wings before they start glowing, taking me off guard. The brightness wavers, but there's enough light to be visible in daylight. I imagine it could be blinding at night. "Wow" I breath. I walk up carefully, but she doesn't shy away. I reach out and rest my palm on her wing. The light glows through my skin slightly, turning my hand red. I watch in fascination as the light glows from her body. She folds her wings back up behind her, and the light she was emitting is gone. I stare at my hands as the glow recedes and the light dims.

"Looks like you are your own personal night light," I joke. I remember when I was younger and scared of the dark, Dad would leave a dim lantern on all night in my room. He called it a night light. I guess that just kind of stuck with me.

"I should probably head back," I tell her. I only then realize I have no idea how long I've been out venturing, and I need to take care of all these scrapes and bruises. She nuzzles my neck affectionately. I'm surprised at how trusting she seems to be.

"I'll be back. Just don't come close to the village. Bad people live there, and they'll hurt you," I tell her, praying to Odin she understands. "Goodbye." I give her nose a stroke, and turn into the forest to head home. I was completely right about dragons, I conclude happily.

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**Thanks for reading! And thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed this story! They make me so happy to read :D**


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